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Police detained a man suspected of hiding 1,900 kilos of cyanide for alleged gold extraction |
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 By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Border police officers from the northern zone arrested a Costa Rican man, surnamed Mendoza, suspected of storing 1,900 kilos of cyanide, a material that was allegedly used to extract gold from the illegal mine in Crucitas de Cutris*, in San Carlos. Police report that, while on a routine patrol, they received a confidential complaint about sacks of material stored in a house in Peñas Blancas* in La Cruz, Guanacaste. When the officers answered the call and located the house, they confirmed the truth of the complaint and coordinated a search with the help of agents of the Judicial Investigation Agency. During the search, the officers seized the 1,900 kilograms of cyanide that was packed in 38 bags. Allan Obando, Director of the Border Police, reported, "this material is highly dangerous to public health and very harmful to the environment. Its confiscation prevents it from being used for the extraction of gold, an illicit activity that we have fought intensely for several weeks with various operative actions. " The suspect was taken to the cells of the Public Ministry where the judicial agents interviewed him for the investigation file. He is waiting for a judge to decide the precautionary pre-trial measures. According to the agents of the Judicial Investigation Organization, the special operations in the area of Crusitas de San Carlos will continue in order to detain any suspect linked to the illegal extraction of gold. As A.M. Costa Rica has reported, in Nov 2018 the Costa Rican Federation for the Conservation of the Environment filed a complaint at the Ministry of Health due to possible mercury contamination in the gold extraction area in Crucitas, and asked the authorities to hold the land owners responsible for the cost of repairing the area’s environmental damage. The organization’s complaint stated that 173,873 m3 of saprolitic material has been extracted (mainly earth and sand). "This means that about 0.5 percent of the total volume of material that Industrias Infinito said it would extract, according to its Environmental Impact Study, has been extracted.” According to the organization, the impact of the activity of illegal miners (known as coligalleros) has caused mercury contamination of surface waters, possibly contaminating the surroundings of Finca Ninvoyet*, in Crucitas, San Carlos. The World Health Organization classifies mercury as a highly toxic substance that poses special public health problems. Mercury is highly toxic to people and it can accumulate in aquatic organisms and pass to humans when they consume contaminated fish. Ecologists say that illegal mining in Crucitas represents a danger to miners, their families, neighboring communities and life in general. In the environment, mercury released by illegal mining accumulates mainly in the form of inorganic mercury compounds such as mercury nitrate. Mining specialists report that extracting a gram of gold requires at least 14 grams of mercury. Mercury nitrate is produced in the chemical separation of the amalgam and deposited in the sediments of rivers and soils, where, by bacterial action and under certain conditions, it can be converted into the far more toxic organic mercury compounds, especially methyl-mercury. On Jan 31, the Ministry of Security reported that five tunnels with a depth of approximately 70 meters were blocked. They were apparently were used for the extraction of gold in the Crucitas area in San Carlos. Luis Carlos Castillo, Vice Minister of Security, said "these are well-designed structures, which were unfortunately built with wood from the area. These tunnels were used for the extraction of gold." |
 Border police courtesy photo The officers seized the 1,900 kilograms of cyanide that was packed in 38 bags. The police report that the tunnels were found in a special surveillance operation in the Crucitas area. The operation included 150 officers including the police, agents of the Judicial Investigation Agency, immigration officials and other government representatives. In addition to the closure of the tunnels, the police detained gold mining suspects without identification documents. Tools used in the extraction of gold, weights, a package with crack, and grams of gold were also confiscated. Also in January, police detained three people traveling in a truck who were transporting a large amount of sediment that was extracted from the area of the mine. Not one of those suspects had identification documents when arrested. The police report says that the suspects had removed the vegetation and excavated the top layer of soil that covers the mineral deposit. They later excavated the mineral bearing layer of soil with machinery or explosives, extracting the material that contained gold. The police confiscated the sediment and the vehicle, and took the three suspects to flagrancy court where the judge sentenced them to three months on pre-trial jail. 'In flagrante delicto' or sometimes simply in flagrante is a legal term used to indicate that a criminal has been caught in the act of committing an offense. The colloquial "caught red-handed" or "caught rapid" are English equivalents. Arrests of illegal miners in the area of the former Crusitas mine are frequent. Since May 2018, the police have arrested more than 500 people in that area. The problems of illegal mining on Crusitas started in 2008, former president Oscar Arias signed a Decree of National Convenience that allowed the Canadian company Infinito Gold Mining to explore for the mineral in Crucitas in Cutris, San Carlos. In 2010 the Contentious Court annulled the decree. After the government annulled the concession, Infinito Gold opened a claim for $321million in compensation before the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes of the World Bank under the Canadian-Costa Rican trade agreement. In January Mr. Óscar Arias appeared before the Prosecutor's office, to declare his innocence in the preliminary hearing on the controversial and complex Infinito Gold criminal case. Former environment minister Roberto Dobles and six key officials of the Environmental Ministry have also been accused in the case. Dobles declared his innocence after a preliminary hearing on January 17th. ---- Should the government pay the reimbursement requested by Canadian company? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to: news@amcostarica.com *Link to reach the place on map. |
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